New year, same workforce shortages

The state's population may be increasing, but it's not growing nearly fast enough to ease the burden of workforce shortages felt throughout the state.

Gov. Doug Burgum welcomed the latest estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau last week, showing that North Dakota's population reached a new all-time high of 779,261 residents as of July 1, 2022.

The estimate represents an increase of 4,313 people from last year's estimate and is 167 residents more than the official 2020 census count.

Since 2010, North Dakota has been among the nation's fastest-growing states, estimated to have grown by more than 16 percent since 2010. Only six states – Idaho, Utah, Texas, Florida, Nevada and Colorado – are estimated to have grown by a higher percentage during that time.

Despite the growth, the state has faced continuous workforce shortages. The unemployment rate has consistently stayed at or below 4 percent over the past 10 years, other than during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when some businesses were temporarily shuttered, students did not attend school in person for nine weeks and state offices were closed to the public to limit spread of the novel coronavirus.

Preliminary labor force statistics indicate that North Dakota's November 2022 not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 1.9 percent. Although that represents a slight increase from October's numbers, it is much lower than last November's rate of 2.6 percent.

Adjusted for seasonality, North Dakota's unemployment rate was 2.3 percent in November, unchanged from the previous month. Meanwhile, the U.S. rate was 3.7 percent.

With fewer people looking for work, and increased turnover, area employers have been forced to make tough business decisions. 4th Corporation, the local agency that provides support and services to individuals with disabilities, announced in December that they had closed their Intermediate Care Facility (ICF) in Carrington due to staff shortages.

"Although we have several fantastic staff, we are still experiencing a critical labor shortage," their December newsletter stated. ". . . It is with great sadness that we are closing our Carrington ICF location simply due to lack of staff. This displaces people that have called Carrington home for several years and forces them to find a different place to live."

4th Corporation is a member of the North Dakota Association of Community Providers (NDACP), a statewide association whose membership provides a wide range of services for people with disabilities.

The NDACP believes the solution is better pay for Direct Service Professionals, the front line workers who provide the daily support to individuals with disabilities. The organization is advocating for cost of living increases from the state, as 4th Corporation is fully funded by Medicaid.

The NDACP website, http://www.ndacp.org, includes links to its member websites, and nearly all 31 of them have openings listed.

The shortage has affected nearly all industries. The Dec. 19 e-blast "This Week in the Central City," sent out by Laurie Dietz at the Carrington Chamber and Economic Development Corporation, included job openings at 20 local businesses, from Arrowwood Prairie Coop and the Chieftain Conference Center to Leading Edge Equipment and Leevers Foods.

"And there are so many more not advertising open positions," Dietz said Wednesday. "This is definitely the highest number of openings we've had in our community."

Dakota Growers, Foster County's largest employers, listed 15 different positions with openings in its Carrington plant as of Dec. 27, with starting wages from $15 - $31 per hour and up to $2,000 in sign-on bonuses offered.

Kelly McKnight, owner of Bakers Dozen in New Rockford, said before Christmas that her downtown bakery has had continuous job openings for two years.

Local governments have adjusted by increasing wages by as much as they can within the limits of tax collection. The City of New Rockford and the Eddy County Commission both budgeted for healthy wage increases, in hopes of not only retaining current staff but also recruiting new people to fill positions soon to be open due to retirements.

At a special meeting on Dec. 20, the New Rockford City Commission approved 9 percent wage increases for all city staff, effective Jan. 1.

The Consumer Price Index increased by 7.1 percent for the 12 months ending November 30, according to Commissioner Jim Belquist. Therefore, staff will receive a "real increase" above the COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment), he surmised.

Commissioners made that decision with the future in mind, as veteran city workers near retirement age. Dillon Hewitt said, "Get (wages) up there so we have more opportunities for people to come in" to fill future openings.

The workforce shortage is on the minds of public officials throughout the state. Governor Burgum has said that the state's workforce challenges are the "No. 1 barrier to economic growth."

In October, during the Main Street Summit, he introduced a set of initiatives known as the ND Works Investment Plan.

"We look forward to working with the legislature to refine the ND Works Investment Plan and other proposals to address our workforce shortage and help North Dakota communities reach their full potential," Burgum said.

The ND Works plan has five tenets: career exploration and preparation; addressing the technical skills gap; recruitment and retention; removing barriers to employment; and occupational licensure reform.

The proposals include providing $25 million for a strategic marketing and recruitment campaign which will include support for expanding the Find the Good Life talent attraction initiative and Job Service North Dakota virtual job fairs.

Dietz said Carrington has agreed to be a Champion Community for Find the Good Life, helping to connect people interested in moving to the state with opportunities. One recent success was seeing a travel nurse from Michigan purchase a home in Carrington with plans to continue working at CHI St. Alexius Health.

Carrington is also focused on bringing hometown kids back. This involves working closely with the school and utilizing Career Builders, a program offered by the state that addresses the highest need occupations in the community, Dietz said.

Other proposals in the ND Works Investment Plan include the following:

• A $20 million competitive Regional Workforce Impact Grant program for local governments, economic development groups, chambers, regional councils and other workforce entities working to address regional labor demands.

• Expanding the state's automation tax credit with a $5 million Automation Enhancement Workforce Training Grant to support upskilling and advanced training for employers utilizing automation technologies to ease workforce challenges.

• Adding $2 million to the Technical Skills Training Grant, which since its inception in 2020 has supported the launch or expansion of nearly 30 training programs in health care, information technology, transportation, welding and more.

• Creating a job placement pilot program with nearly $750,000 to ensure that incarcerated individuals released from North Dakota's correctional facilities are trained and connected to positions where they can succeed.

• Continue working on occupational licensure reform to identify ways to expedite the process for professional licensure in North Dakota.

These proposals are expected to be the cornerstone of the state's efforts during the upcoming legislative session, as they seek to convince legislators that they have solutions to the workforce challenges that have persisted for more than a decade.